Palmer Chamber moving forward with outdoor oriented Colony Christmas

WASILLA— The Greater Palmer Chamber of Commerce is moving forward with its Colony Christmas festivities in downtown Palmer this weekend.

A majority of the community events, including the pinnacle point of interest, the Parade of Lights, are taking place on Saturday, according to Executive Director Ailis Vann.

“We don’t foresee any reason to cancel unless something comes down from the higher ups,” Vann said.

According to Vann, nearly all of the Colony Christmas events and activities are taking place outside this year to accommodate social distancing measures.

“We really molded it this year into a pretty much full outdoor event. We’re just trying to encourage people to bundle up and enjoy the winter weather on Saturday.”

Vann noted that the parade route is also slightly different this year to encourage spectators to space out more.

“We want people to spread out and make it as safe as possible... We’re just asking people to be mindful of others,” Vann said.

There are several new features this year, including a number of kids games, a cornhole tournament and an outdoor skating rink. Palmer Fire and Rescue donated water for the rink.

“People don’t necessarily realize that these events are a huge collaboration by multiple entities to make it happen… It takes a village really to pull these events off,” Vann said.

There’s normally a holiday craft fair inside the Palmer Train Depot during the Colony Christmas weekend, but that was cancelled this year as a result of COVID-19.

“It’s a sad thing we just don’t have that aspect of Colony Christmas,” Vann said. “Things are different, but there’s still a lot to do. Again, we just want people to be outside and enjoy what we have done and put together for the year, and support those small businesses while you’re in town.”

Colony Christmas is one of Palmer’s most cherished traditions that draws in crowds of people from across the Valley.

“I do love Colony Christmas because of all the Christmas lights, and everybody’s just cheerful and joyful,” Vann said. “I love people coming to our town and just enjoying everything it has to offer.”

The Parade of Lights starts at 5 p.m. on Saturday. For a full event schedule, visit palmerchamber.org/colonychristmas.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com